Tim Tebow laughs while answering questions from reporters during a news conference at Steinbrenner Field Tampa, Fla. on Thursday, August 10, 2017.

Although not in the lineup Tim Tebow took timeout from his busy schedule during game day to speak with members of the media prior to the Port St. Lucie Mets taking on the Tampa Yankees Thursday in Tampa. The Port St. Lucie Mets will play a four game series against the Tampa Yankees before heading to the Clearwater Threshers on Monday, Aug. 14 for a three game series.

Teachers and administration kicked off the new school year with a big pep rally on Thursday at Gibbs High School. The school is celebrating its 90th birthday as the high school marching band, cheerleaders and teachers greeted students on their first day of class of 2017.

ST. PETERSBURG — Students and parents arrived at Gibbs High before dawn Thursday and were greeted by a large contingent of teachers, administrators and school district officials, along with the Gibbs marching band, the Gladiators football team and cheerleaders.

The sprawling campus was bedecked in blue-and-gold balloons to mark the first day of classes.

And why not? Gibbs is celebrating its 90th year. But it was also the kind of display that principal Reuben C. Hepburn has turned into a regular feature since he arrived on the scene two years ago with an emphasis on closing the achievement gap and ramping up school spirit.

"I want our students to be able to come to a place where they know they're going to be cared for," Hepburn said. "And I want them to be prideful, I want them to be excited to display that Gladiator brand, that Gladiator logo, no matter where they go."

He said it was important to kick off the year with "something special."

The school opened in 1927 as the county's first secondary school for black students, and it remains a point of community pride for many of St. Petersburg's African American residents. …

Slowly, Queena Phu is learning the act of walking again through exercises in locomotion, strength and balance. She practiced her steps once again Monday afternoon with trainer-technician Mike Lopez at the nonprofit Stay In Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center near the University of South Florida. Queena was an East Bay High School student nine years ago when she suffered brain damage from a brutal attack while returning books to Bloomingdale Regional Public Library. Much of the cost of her therapy has been born through fund-raising events like the second Hope Classic, scheduled for Aug. 6 at Topgolf Tampa. "It has been an incredible experience being able to see how much she's excelled from her therapy," Lopez said. "The strides she has taken have been an inspiration to all of us."

Actress Diana Huey tries on a mermaid tail in the water at Weeki Wachee Springs in Weeki Wachee, Fla. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.

Actress Diana Huey tried on a mermaid tail in the water at Weeki Wachee Springs in Weeki Wachee, Fla. on Wednesday. Huey stars as Ariel, the title role in the national tour of Disney's The Little Mermaid, running July 11-16 at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. Most days, she simulates swimming through her undersea kingdom by flying around in a harness. But during her visit to Weeki Wachee Springs, she watched the underwater version of The Little Mermaid, then learned from the best how to swim with a tail.

From left, a Carrot cupcake with a hook-up of champagne, a Miss Scarlett's Red Velvet cupcake with a hook-up of red wine, a Blackout cupcake with a hook-up of milk and a Cookie Dough cupcake with Royal Tokaji wine at Swah-Rey on Central Avenuein St. Petersburg.

Two years ago Leslie Ann and Gregg Ciccone moved to St. Petersburg to be close to family and flip houses.

Greg had a career in the food industry and Leslie Ann was a air traffic controller. She saw a need for a good dessert restaurant so the couple opened up Swah-Rey on Central Avenue.

Gregg based his menu off the recipes of his Italian grandmother and they sell cake slices, mini cakes, pie in a glass, cheesecakes and creme brûlée along with draft beers, wine, tea and Kahwa coffee.

Business has been so good that they will be opening a smaller shop on Central Ave. closer to downtown that will specialize in the mini’s.

Tampa Bay Downs hosted the Tampa Bay Corgi Meetup group and 50 Corgis and their owners for a 6 heat Corgi dirt track race. Hundreds of people lined up to see the races and a post race concert by the Soul Circus Cowboys.

More than four dozen short-legged racers ran track of Tampa Bay Downs for Corgi Racing on Saturday. 48 corgis stepped up to the starting line, after horse racing had finished for the day, to see who was the fastest and cutest Corgi at the track.

Thirty refugees to the United States became US Citizens, Friday, as they were sworn in during a Naturalization Oath Ceremony, Friday, 6/16/17 at Pinellas Technical College, St. Petersburg. Front, left to right: are new US citizens Ali Alazzawi who is from Iraq, and Mileydis Guerra from Cuba. 30 refugees became US citizens. The ceremony also included recognition to World Refugee Day.

30 former refugees were sworn in today as new US citizens at Pinellas Technical College. World Refugee Day was also celebrated at the event as various former refugees were honored for their service around Tampa Bay.

Dancers from The Democratic Republic of the Congo entertained guests and their families with a "Dance of Hope," for the new US citizens.

New US citizen, Ali Alazzawi, a native of Baghdad, Iraq, said he has great hope as he looks to the future with his family in the US. "I want to thank everyone for this great opportunity I have been given," he said.

Of the 30 newest citizens, a third are Cuban. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Philippines and Venezuela each had two. The others came from as nearby as Haiti and as far as Burma.

From left, Vice President of Phoenix House Florida Maria Alvarez, Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman, President and CEO of Phoenix House Ann Bray, Turn 2 Foundation Founder Derek Jeter, Turn 2 Foundation President Sharlee Jeter, and Phoenix House alum Alex Hinderscheid, pose for a photo before cutting the ribbon dedicating Phoenix House's newly renovated Derek Jeter Youth Addiction Treatment Center in Brandon, Fla., on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. The new facility doubles the center's treatment capacity over its previous location on West Waters Avenue in Tampa.

On Tuesday, former New York Yankees shortstop and founder of the Turn 2 Foundation Derek Jeter and his sister, Turn 2 Foundation President Sharlee Jeter, attended the dedication ceremony for Phoenix House's newly renovated Derek Jeter Youth Addiction Treatment Center in Brandon, Fla. The new facility doubles the center's treatment capacity over its previous location on West Waters Avenue in Tampa. A $850,000 contribution by Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation funded the new facility, but a surprise contribution of $150,000 unveiled during the ceremony raised the total to $1,000,000.

Eight-year-old Piper St. Jean, of Tampa, uses a brush to clean the grave of her grandfather, Henry St. Jean, who served with the United States Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam wars. at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens on Monday moments after the conclusion of their 31st annual Memorial Day Service on Monday (5/23/17) in Palm Harbor.

Curlew Hills Memory Gardens honored those that served during their 31st annual Memorial Day Service on Monday (5/23/17) in Palm Harbor. The event featured guest speakers, live choral performances by the Palm Harbor United Methodist Church choir and live music by Bones South, an area trombone ensemble with rhythm section. On Saturday local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops placed flags on veterans’ graves prior to the event. This is an annual tradition of Curlew Hills' Memorial Day services and helps the Scout troops achieve merit badges.

Jefferson High sprinters Eyekeyle Gardner, 17, left, and Kourtney Lawton, 15, compete in the Girls 2A 4x400 Meter relay during the FHSAA Track & Field Finals held at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida on Saturday, May 6, 2017.

View a gallery of images from Saturday's Florida High School Track & Field State Championships in Bradenton.

Calvary Christian players circle up on the field before the FHSAA class 4A baseball championship against Pensacola Catholic on Friday May 27, 2017 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. Calvary scored 6 runs in the first inning, and had 7 hits.

View a gallery of images from Calvary Christian's defeat of Pensacola Catholic 11-1 in six innings Saturday night at Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers for the Class 4A title.

Maiya Stevenson gets applause after performing He Looked Beyond My Faults at City Hall in St. Petersburg Thursday, May 18, 2018, after being recognized by the city council as an official Sunshine Ambassador. The 22-year-old FAMU graduate is headed to Bulgaria for one month this summer, where she will play the role of Donna Anna in a production of Don Giovanni. During her senior year at Gibbs High School's Pinellas County Center for the Arts, she participated in the Negro Spiritual Voice Competition, winning first place. She has also sung at Carnegie Hall.

Maiya Stevenson performs He Looked Beyond My Faults at City Hall in St. Petersburg Thursday, May 18, 2018, after being recognized by the city council as an official Sunshine Ambassador. The 22-year-old FAMU graduate is headed to Bulgaria for one month this summer, where she will play the role of Donna Anna in a production of Don Giovanni. During her senior year at Gibbs High School’s Pinellas County Center for the Arts, she participated in the Negro Spiritual Voice Competition, winning first place. She has also sung at Carnegie Hall.

Mark Rachal, an Audubon Florida sanctuary manager, drives a boat of bird counters to "Spoil Island 3D" in Tampa Bay on Monday, May 15, 2017. The manmade island was created with bottom material dumped after nearby channel dredging, and now serves as important habitat for myriad bird species. The island continues to grow as material is added with continued dredging operations.

Individuals from Florida Fish and Wildlife, Audubon Florida, Tampa Bay Watch, Port Tampa Bay and the US Army Corps of Engineers conducted a bird count on Spoil Island 3D in Tampa Bay the morning of Monday, May 15, 2017. Spoil Island 3D, a manmade island created with bottom material dumped after nearby channel dredging, serves as important habitat for myriad bird species. Some of those species are deemed “imperiled” by Florida Fish and Wildlife, but find refuge on the island’s quiet shores. As regular dredging efforts continue in order to keep the nearby shipping channel clear, material is added to the island to create additional bird habitat.